And What Happens At The New Moon?
by Vialana
Summary: Sirius/Remus :: It's close to final exam times and the stress is starting to affect everyone, even the Marauders. So just what are two restless pranksters to do on the night of the new moon?


**Disclaimer: I do not in any way claim to own the Harry Potter series. Any recognizable characters/scenes/etc belong to JK Rowling … this is just a fan fiction showing my love and appreciation of the series.**

_… Eh, I said I wasn't going to do this … but here I am writing a Harry Potter fan fiction … I just had to get this out. Darn imagination._

_Anyways, this particular fiction is from the MWPP era (don't we just love those ^_^) and is also SLASH (aka, two guys together ... yay!) Specifically, this is Remus/Sirius slash (this is my all time fave pairing in HP). This takes place in their last year. Obviously it's probably not going to be totally cannon (being both Slash and a fan fiction) but bear with slight discrepancies please? And this will probably be a one-shot … though a long one._

_Well, I hope you enjoy my first fore into the Harry Potter fandom._

**... And What Happens At The New Moon?**

NEWTS.

Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests. The very antithesis to the very existence of any student partaking studies at Hogwarts this year … well, at least to those in their seventh and final year … like Messer Remus Lupin, aka, Messer Moony.

Now, Remus, being the meticulous person he is, had been preparing for this moment since his arrival at the school way back when he was but a mite of a lad, wide-eyed and drinking up the wonderfully magical and enthusiastically ecstatic atmosphere of the wizarding school. He had no worries now, everything he needed to know was already stored up inside his brain, and with his regular and heavy study sessions, he thought he was well prepared to face this year.

Others in his grade, he knew, were not however.

Poor little Peter Pettigrew, a rather good friend of his and fellow Marauder Messer Wormtail, was currently drooling all over a highly disgusted black-and-white diagram of a wizard demonstrating the proper motion for a memory spell. Some of the caption below him was already smudged by the saliva and the wizard shuddered, moving as far as he could towards the frame of his picture, looking up at Remus in supplication. Remus could do nothing but shrug and smile apologetically. He was feeling for the wizard, however, he knew from years of experience that Peter was harder to wake than an extinct volcano, and would erupt with just as much force when disturbed from such a deep peaceful slumber. Remus was not willing to part with any of his limbs at the moment, so he merely prodded Peter slightly so his drool now fell upon the other page, one with no pictures. The wizard smiled gratefully.

Peter was not the only one in this condition. Quite a few students had come down with this odd 'sleeping' disorder. It seemed that studying too hard and panicking over NEWTS for an extended amount of time cause the brain to overload and shut down. It had already happened to quite a few in their grade, and now it seemed Peter had also been affected.

It was rather unlikely that the other three Marauders would be suffering the same fate however. Both Messrs James Potter, Messer Prongs, and Sirius Black, Messer Padfoot, had never worried too much over school work, nor tests, considering they were the most brilliant students to pass through the school in years. They only had to see something once (sometimes not even that) and they could do it or remember it at any given time. It was a gift that many in their grade now envied: it negated the need for such intense study just to pass the evil wizard exams. Though, admittedly, there were a few things that both boys could not always recall or still needed a bit of work with. No one was perfect. This was why just before James had given in to his recently-made-girlfriend, Lily Evan's, pleading and cute begging looks to study with her for Charms. Though Sirius had joked that the only reason James had gone was because he expected 'rewards' whenever he got a question or study tip right … he had also been knocked about the side of the head and had his hair turned bright green for an hour for the insinuation that James would behave in such an un-gentleman-like manner towards the love of his life. Remus had stayed clear of them and just watched in amusement. Life was never dull with those two around always goofing off.

However, now he was wishing there was something for him to do. He was feeling extremely restless, rather unusual for him, but it happened on occasion. There were only so many times you could go over the same spells, recipes and facts over and over. Since Remus had been quite active in his studies for a long time taking a break now really wouldn't matter much, right?

He glanced to the side to see Sirius staring blankly at the page before him, his eyes glazed. Remus grinned. He had seen that look before. Sirius had actually fallen asleep like that a few times (mostly in History of Magic) but no one seemed to notice, as he also made slight movements every now and then, natural looking ones, that had fooled many people into believing he was just thinking hard on something. It was a bit odd, but Remus and the others had gotten used to it quite quickly. But it seemed now that Sirius was in an even worse state than him concerning his boredom … that he would actually resort to _STUDY_ to relieve it … Remus shuddered at the thought.

"Siri," he whispered, leaning over to his friend and gently shoving him. Sirius blinked once then looked up at him. In this state, he had always been a light sleeper, in case one of the teachers had finally caught him.

"Yeah, Rem?" he asked groggily.

Remus grinned at him. "Up for some fun, Mr. Padfoot?"

Sirius returned the look. "Only if Mr. Moony is suggesting what I think he is."

"Indeed, I think he is."

"Good then, I'd hate to think I'd lost my touch going so long without a bit of fun."

Remus snorted. "You? Lose your touch? Heaven forbid it. The day Sirius Black fails in a prank is the day Severus Snape admits his unholy desire for you."

Sirius opened his mouth in horror (and Remus truly could not tell if it were put on or not) "Do not even jest about such a thing! The trauma of two such impossible and damaging events in my life may send me to St Mungo's prematurely."

            Remus grinned, a glint in his eye. "So that means you were headed there eventually?"

            "I never denied it once," Sirius replied with a laugh. He sobered up a bit and looked slyly at his friend. "So just what did you have in mind, my dear Mr. Moony, for tonight's shenanigans?"

            That odd glint appeared again in the bright amber eyes of the former prefect and he leaned in closer to Sirius to whisper, "Well it all begins with a side-trip to the kitchens …"

***

It was thrilling to be doing this again, which showed how much time had passed since any Marauder had gone out for a bit of fun. James was caught up in his duties as Head Boy, and he had too much to lose to be caught (rare though it was for the four of them to even be seen by anyone up and about at night, much less caught) He would still join in on something on occasion, but not as much as the others, Sirius especially, would have liked.

            Reluctant as they were to admit it, Lily was also another reason why he didn't spend as much time Marauding. Not that she wasn't a nice girl, she was rather fun to hang around with and really didn't seem to mind their prankster natures as much any more, but with her spending more times with James, it cut into his time with his friends even more. Had it been anyone other than _James_, Sirius would have thought they were losing him. But not Prongs. The Marauder bond was a bond for life, nothing could change that.

            Peter wasn't the most outgoing guy normally. He was fine hanging in the background, being supportive and up for a bit of fun every now and then with everyone around. But with James gone, he was a bit more reluctant about things. He had always been a nervous little fellow, the one with the doubts, though he never said anything more after a first reluctant and half-hearted protest, but things were getting worse. Add to that the stress he put himself through just to pass his NEWTS … well, he wouldn't have been the best person to plan something with.

            It wasn't as fun with just two Marauders willing to get up to mischief.

            But tonight, they were about to prove that wrong. Why should Padfoot and Moony suffer because the others weren't up for some fun? Just because all of them weren't there didn't mean that pranks and entertaining activities couldn't go on.

            Should anyone ask, it was a stress reliever for them to be wandering around in the shadows, their pockets filled with food and alcohol (technically by wizard law they were able to drink, though it was still frowned upon by the teachers, and definitely inside the castle it was forbidden) Of course, if anyone found the other … _questionable _items in their pockets, they were doomed.

            Whipping out a familiar piece of parchment, Remus glanced down to see someone approaching. His eyes widened and he grabbed Sirius by the robes and pulled him into a corridor. Sirius didn't question him, just following along behind, trying to make as little sound as possible as they escaped possible capture by Filch.

            It was even more thrilling to be doing such things without James' Invisibility Cloak. Sometimes it felt like cheating, hiding underneath that thing.

            "In here," Remus hissed, his voice barely a breath of air, but Sirius heard and nodded, frowning slightly as Remus pulled a tapestry aside and shoved his hand against the wall.

            _Ah, of course, I'd almost forgotten about this one,_ Sirius mused as Remus' hand, then arm, and finally whole body seemed to disappear inside the stone wall. It was another secret passage, only this one didn't lead out of the grounds, just out of the castle itself. 

They didn't dare light their wands for a long time as they walked, fearful that the light might somehow be seen. After a while though, Sirius took a chance and whispered, "Lumos."

            Remus looked down at the Map and sighed in relief. "Filch has gone straight past and Mrs. Norris is on the fifth floor," he told Sirius.

            "Good. Anyone else up and about?"

            "Dumbledore, though it looks like he's heading to meet with Madam Pomfrey. Checking up on some of the students in a bad shape because of the exams I'd wager." Remus smiled, he'd always had a high opinion of the headmaster.

            "Good. So, will it be safe to go back and finish what we started?"

            Remus frowned then shook his head. "It looks like Peeves is nearby, trashing the Trophy Room again. Once Filch finds out, we won't be able to go anywhere near there."

            "Damn." Sirius slumped against the wall of the tunnel. "Well there goes that idea. No offence Moony, but we were right, it's not as fun without the others around."

            "True. Guess we can't come up with the same perfect plans as we normally do without the four of us putting our heads together and getting more ideas."

            "James would have an answer for everything," Sirius mused with a smile, chuckling softly as he recalled the many meetings between the four. "No matter what Peter came up with, he'd somehow manage to counter it. Left him with no doubts at all in the end that everything would work out perfectly."

            "You sound like you had nothing to do with it," Remus said. "If I recall correctly, you were the one who usually came up with the ideas for pranks. Not all of them were James'."

            "More like I was annoyed, or bored and fantasized about humiliating Snape in some way." Sirius smiled dreamily. "Do you recall the levitation incident last year?" Remus laughed aloud for a moment, before clapping a hand to his mouth at the volume of his voice. Sirius chuckled at him. "Never thought we'd get away with that one. Bloody glad you're with us Rem, don't know what we'd do without you."

            Remus snorted, "Like I really do much to help."

            "You do, you keep all the details together and somehow always manage to keep us out of trouble, either with your common sense, or your amazing ability to tell tall tales to the teachers. You're good with quick thinking to save our asses Rem."

            Remus blushed slightly. "Well it would be a shame to see such a nice ass in trouble now wouldn't it?"

            Sirius didn't care how loud he was, he laughed as hard as he could, tears streaming from his eyes. Hell, he'd missed how much fun it was to just hang around with Remus like this, the boy was exceptionally witty and sly. He always seemed so innocent to others — despite how they knew he was close friends with Sirius and James — he was the nice guy, maybe the one who curbed their instincts every once in a while, sweet-tempered and mild-mannered. No one would have ever suspected him to be so randy at times and exceptionally quick-witted, nor did they expect him to rival Sirius in coming up with various ideas for pranks. James and Sirius always turned to him when they wanted to prank someone, he had a rather unique way of looking at a situation and finding a way to turn it to their advantage. Most often than not, the pranks he planned were subtle and all the more humiliating for the receivers.

            It was always fun to banter and play with the wolf-boy.

            "Come on," Remus gestured as Sirius regained himself. "Let's head outside for a bit. Might as well enjoy the rest of the night rather than waste it all by going back to the Tower."

            "Sure." Siruis grinned and followed him along the dark tunnel. "It's a rather warm night don't you think Moony?"

            Moony looked at his friend sideways. "Why whatever could you be planning Padfoot?" he asked with a glint in his eye that told he knew exactly what Sirius was up to.

            "I just remembered that this tunnel leads to the wall closest to the Lake. A midnight swim might do us a bit of good."

            "Why I do believe you have come up with yet another brilliant plan."

Sirius waved the compliment away modestly. "Don't I always?" he replied with a roguish grin and wink.

            Remus laughed at his friend. He had been quite right before. Nothing was dull around Sirius.

***

Three butterbeers, six delicious éclairs and half a bottle of firewhisky later, loud sounds of splashing and laughing could be heard at the far end of the Lake. Two older boys were rather confident in the fact that they were far enough away from the castle to not be heard and thus were having the time of their life swimming and attempting to 'drown' each other.

            Remus couldn't recall when he'd had so much fun.

            "Siri, stop!" He gasped, rising up for air after a particularly good dunking by his friend, who was currently hooting with laughter and trying to hold himself afloat at the same time. Sirius grinned and jumped at his friend again, but Remus managed to get in control of the situation this time and grabbed onto Sirius' hair (which was hanging a bit longer due to being so wet) and pulled him down when he was pushed under.

            Sirius broke away from Remus' strong grip and resurfaced, coughing up water he'd swallowed when he'd be taken so effectively by surprise. Remus burst from the water moments later with a grin. He reached out for Sirius but stopped when he realized how pale his friend was from his last actions.

            "Truce?" he offered, holding out a hand and treading water.

            Sirius breathed deeply and coughed again before nodding and agreeing, hoarsely, "Truce." He grabbed Remus hand with a smile. "Must admit Moony, you got me good there."

            "I know." Remus chuckled and swam lazily for the edge of the lake. Sirius followed him. They both shivered slightly as the cool night air caressed their bare torsos, but they didn't dress yet, letting the wind dry them off a bit first. It wasn't really that cool, but they had just been swimming.

            Sirius lay down on the soft grass and stared up at the ceiling of black sky and tiny white lights, smiling contentedly. "You know Rem, this hasn't been too bad. Though I still wish we'd been able to pull that stunt on Snape and Avery. That one would have gone down in the record books, let me tell you."

            "Maybe another night then. We might be able to work on it a bit more so we can get Rosier, Wilkes and Macnair in on it too. I still haven't forgotten that incident in Potions last week." Remus sat down beside Sirius with a dark glare on his face. "They picked the wrong werewolf to cross then."

            Sirius chuckled. "Yeah. Guess they thought you were harmless. Just like everyone else. If only they knew the truth."

            "And what truth would that be, my dear Mr. Padfoot?" Remus asked innocently, looking down at Sirius with an extremely believable bewildered expression on his face. Sirius laughed at him again.

            "How do you do that? I've never been able to manage such a believably innocent look on my face. I get seen though in an instant. James too, and I thought he was at least slightly innocent looking. Peter just gets to nervous to even try."

            "I guess I'm just good with deception and hiding."

            Sirius' smile faded as he understood the undertones to that mild comment. Remus still didn't give anything away on his face. He'd mastered concealment a long time ago, but Sirius and his friends knew him too well to know when he was hurting inside.

            Right now though, Sirius didn't know what to say. They'd said it all and Remus knew that. He just shuffled over and laid his head in the werewolf's lap, offering silent support to his pensive friend. Remus smiled gratefully down at him and the dark atmosphere around them suddenly lifted when Sirius saw the light in those soft amber eyes again.

            "I say we do something to make the others jealous and realize what they're missing out on," Sirius said after a while of sitting in contented silence with Remus. "Something big that we can brag about for days."

            "You're not going to try and kill Snape again are you?"

            Sirius glared at Remus, who, surprisingly was grinning at him. "You're just going to keep bringing that up again aren't you?"

            "Whenever you think about doing something silly and reckless. Try and think before you plan this one out."

            "That's why I want you to help out Moony. Everyone knows you're the real genius behind our pranks … well, we do anyway." Sirius gave him his best 'puppy-look'. "Please Moony? I'll love you forever and ever?" he pouted and blinked his long dark eyelashes.

            Remus laughed at the display. "Fine, I'll do it you evil fiend. You know I can't resist your begging."

            "Thank you!" Sirius turned over and grabbed him around the waist in a tight hug, not quite realizing just how incriminating a position it was for the two of them. He was too happy. Moony's pranks were always the best. Remus, however, knew exactly how things would look to an outsider stumbling across them. It was a good thing there were no outsiders to stumble within range then.

            He managed to subdue his blush and merely smiled at the sight his friend made. It always startled him slightly how different Sirius could be at times. In rare moments, like this one, he could act as innocent and happy as any other teenager around. Remus was glad to get the opportunity to watch him so relaxed. "You're quite welcome," he replied. "I'm glad I'm so well appreciated."

            "Always Rem. So," he paused and flipped himself over again so he could look up at his associate in mischief. "What to do? And who to do it to."

            "Why not everyone?" Remus suggested. "It reduces the risk of being caught and it would be rather amusing to perform something that large."

            Sirius grinned, an evil light in his eyes. "You're quite right, my dear Mr. Moony. And should we pull this prank on our fellow Marauders also?"

            "Of course, they missed out be being otherwise occupied, thus, they suffer the consequences. And again, it will make things easier to appear an accident, shifting the blame away from us."

            "Very true." Sirius scowled slightly. "That'll teach Mr. Prongs to dump me for his wife."

            Remus chuckled. "They're not married yet."

            "Exactly, _yet_. It's only a matter of time before our dearest Head Girl becomes Mrs. Lily Potter." Sirius made a face. "We'll definitely have to get those two good."

            "Feeling a bit spiteful are we?"

            "Perhaps just a little."

            Remus smiled indulgently. "Then we'll have to come up with something really good, so even Prongs doesn't suspect us."

            Sirius sighed. "This is becoming harder and harder." He grinned suddenly. "It's a good thing I rather enjoy a challenge."

            "Indeed it is, though we still have to come up with some basic idea to start with."

            "Yeah." Sirius pursed his lips thoughtfully and leaned further against Remus, sinking into his lap a bit as he soon lost himself in thought, staring up at the clear night sky.

            The two sat in silence again, hardly noticing the gentle wind blowing around them drying them and ruffling their hair. Remus watched the ripples on the lake, the serenity of the scene almost hypnotic and very soothing. He felt he could almost forget everything and just drift away, immersing himself completely in the peaceful feelings. That is, until he felt Sirius stir slightly.

            He had been staring up at the black sky above, trying to ascertain the truly infinite nature of the endless space above, broken only by the smallest glimmerings of light from the far stars. He noticed something missing however and frowned, stirring Moony slightly with his shift in body and emotions.

            "What is it Siri?" Remus whispered, as though fearful of breaking the quite around them.

            "I've always wondered something Rem. Whatever happens at the New Moon?"

            Remus stilled as he heard this. Sensing his friend's sudden tension, Sirius rose up and turned so he was facing Remus, watching him worriedly. "Rem?" He reached up a hand to cup Remus' pale chin in his slightly tanned hand. "You all right? Did I say something wrong?"

            Remus shook his head, his eyes slightly unfocused as he looked over at Sirius. "No, I'm fine I guess. Your question … it just startled me a bit."

            "How come?"

            Remus bit his lip and looked down slightly. "Well, there's … um … well, you see … er … well, I guess things are sort of involved. It's quite a long explanation and … well …" Surprisingly, Remus' cheeks flushed slightly.

            "Rem?" Sirius was wide-eyed, wondering just what was so strange about the question that it had cause _Remus_ to blush. The guy could talk about anything without batting an eyelid … yet here he was, embarrassed about talking about the moon.

            "Is it something to do with werewolves?"

            "I guess." Remus looked up. "Do you really want to know?"

            Sirius nodded. "But only if you want to tell me. The question sort of bugged me every so often, popping up, but I always forgot to mention it to  you."

            Remus hesitated then nodded. "I guess I could tell you. I mean, knowing you, you'd probably be able to figure things out on your own." He cleared his throat and tried to regain his composure slightly. Sirius forced himself not to groan. Remus looked as though he were going to put on his 'lecture' voice. As though sensing his friend's thoughts however, Remus grinned at him.

            "Well, you should know from Divination and Astronomy that the planets, sun and moon are supposed to have an effect on Earth and its beings. Most of the time, this is just a minor influence. The moon however has a stronger effect on the earth and humans than most people realize however. Its influence can actually be seen, and thus the study of Divination continues thanks to proof."

            "Damn shame about that," Sirius muttered, causing Remus to chuckle.

            "Anyway. The moon causes tides, has an effect on many various plants and, quite obviously, has an affect on werewolves and other creatures. Even humans are known to have done things caused by the moons influence."

            "You mean like girls?" Sirius asked bluntly, seeing a brief spot of light in-between Remus' lecturing.

            Remus blushed bright red this time. "Yes, if you insist n being so crude and obvious, girls and the … cycles … oh boy, I knew this would be hard."

            "Why don't you just simplify things by telling me outright?" Sirius asked, slightly annoyed.

            "I am," Remus protested.

            "You're not. I know you Moony, you're trying to avoid the issue and make it sound as though there's some logical explanation for something I still don't know about … which there probably is, but I don't need to know why _something_ happens at the new moon, just what. Why won't you tell me?"

            Remus blushed again.

            "Is it embarrassing or something?"

            Remus cleared his throat and looked away, trying once again to regain his composure, and succeeding more this time. "Sort of," he admitted.

            "Well if you feel uncomfortable, just drop it. It was just mild curiosity."

            Remus looked over at his friend who had resumed looking up at the night sky, hugging his knees against his chest loosely. He could tell Sirius was a bit disappointed, but he still was willing to let things lie until Remus was more comfortable telling him. His friends were always doing things like that for him, thinking of his comfort above other things they normally would have deemed important. Sirius especially was always so considerate. Most wouldn't even think it of the brash outrageous boy, but then they didn't know Sirius like he did. All the Marauders were different to what people thought of them, mysteries and paradoxes, oxymorons and ambiguities.

            Even to each other at times.

            Remus watched Sirius for  long time, seeing his almost shoulder length raven hair fall about in its natural place, looking untouched as it always did, contrasting with his light skin, which was raised in slight bumps from the chill of the air. But even with his slit physical discomfort, Sirius looked completely at peace, content to merely watch the sky and enjoy the night beside him.

            Remus felt something stir inside him as he continues to gaze at his friend and he let the influence of the hidden moon wash over him as a smile crept over his face. His eyes lidded and he moved closer to Sirius, sliding his arms around the others waist.

            "Sirius," be breathed gently into his ear, his voice slightly husky. He delighted in the shiver it caused to travel down Sirius' spine. "Do you still want to know what happens at the new moon?"

            Siruis was breathing harshly, his heart beating erratically. Something was definitely happening and though he wasn't sure just what, he knew he didn't dislike it. He turned around in Remus' arms and his eyes widened as he saw the look upon his friend's face. His body seemed to recognize what that unusual light in his eye was before his mind could comprehend the intense emotions flickering over the werewolf's face, but just an instant before Remus moved he understood just what Remus was experiencing under the influence of the moon:

            _Dear heavens, it's lust!_

            Firm lips met his in a hard, intense kiss. Sirius whimpered slightly at the rushing heat he felt inside with the contact. Remus moved his lips slightly, stirring a response from the stunned boy beneath him. Sirius drowned in the sensations he felt, pressing back against the delicious feeling of the kiss, not caring what was happening, just wanting more. He opened his lips and sucked lightly on Remus' bottom lip. He heard a soft growl before he was suddenly pushed to the ground and was kissed so passionately he thought he would just burst with emotion. He'd never been kissed like this before. It was so wild and rough … he loved it and couldn't get enough. He grabbed hold of Remus just as tight as Sirius was being held and retuned every one of Remus movements and emotions with equal vigour and passion.

            Some time later perhaps hours, though it was doubtful as it was still the middle of night, the two pulled back, panting heavily, faces slightly pale, though cheeks infused with a light flush.

            Sirius stared up at Remus who was still crouched over him, watching him intently as he gasped for breath.

            "I won't blame that on the moon," Remus whispered quietly over their heavy breathing. "The moon is just an influence, it does not control humans like that. With the moon as an influence, some of out most primal instincts are brought to the surface. For me, it's a bit more intense, being what I am. Though I am usually much more controlled." He smirked at Sirius. "Guess all your bragging has some degree of truth to it, you really are irresistible."

            Sirius grinned. "You know me, divine beauty incarnate."

            Remus grinned and licked his lips. "Indeed," he breathed in that same husky voice, sending more shivers through Sirius' body.

            "I've heard that our instincts are never wrong," Sirius mused quietly, luminous blue eyes captivated by the shining amber ones above.

            "I've heard that too."

            "Then I must remember to give thanks to the bright goddess of the night sky for showing me how wonderfully right my instincts are." With a brash grin so familiar to Remus, Sirius reached up and tangled his fingers in Remus' long moon-streaked honey brown hair, pulling the eager boy down for another bruising, passionate and lengthy kiss that later had them both gasping for breath and still wanting more.

            It was like a fever, making them delirious with heat and desire, burning their skin, infecting their very souls. A New Moon Fever.

            Sirius suddenly broke away from Remus with a laugh.

            "What?" Remus asked curiously, wondering why Sirius suddenly looked so delightedly evil.

            "I think I've just discovered the perfect idea for our prank!"

***

They made their move at the next New Moon, fining out a few things on the way.

            Sirius discovered that House-elves had rather strong reactions to Butterbeer. Remus probably managed to not just pass his practical Potions NEWT but get an 'O' level while he was at it through all of his practical experience that next month, as well as Charms most likely too. Both of them became rather adept also at being able to come up with quick stories for why they were so late to various things, or why they looked as though they had been romping around in the Dark Forest for a while. Sirius managed to perfect a slightly more believable 'innocent' look … not quite innocent, but more of a '_this_ time I'm innocent' look. All in all it was a rather productive (not to mention enjoyable in various ways) month.

            They of course spent their night of the moon outside again, sneaking out after everyone had fallen asleep, snoring loudly. They spent the first part of the night goofing around and enjoying their time alone. The second part was work.

            Equipped with butterbeer and Remus' potion, they snuck into the kitchens to put everything into action.

***

James yawned loudly as he walked into the Great Hall that morning. He'd tried to wake Peter again, to no avail. Ever since his breakdown, he, like many other victims of the disorder, had spent a lot of time sleeping and 'moderating' their activities. Of course, Peter's idea of moderation was leaning more towards the lazy side of things, but hey, to each his own.

            He smiled brightly as he saw the other two occupants of the seventh year dorm sitting talking quietly, already halfway through breakfast.

            It was odd, he almost felt like he hadn't been seeing much of Sirius and Remus, but then he had been spending a bit more time with Lily lately. He blushed, day dreaming for a moment about his gorgeous girlfriend, before shaking himself and heading over to his friends again. He should really make things up to them, it wasn't fair that he ditched them like that for a girl, Sirius was his best friend and Remus was just as close to him. He'd missed them quite a bit over the past few weeks.

            "Hey Padfoot, Moony," he greeted, sliding in beside Sirius.

            Sirius grinned widely at him. "Morning Prongs, sleep well?"

            James blushed slightly. "Yeah, I guess."

            "Didn't hear you come in last night," Remus mused. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you stayed out all night." There it was, that knowing glint in his eye. How he loathed that glint in his friend's eye at times.

            James scowled. "Fine, I was with Lily. Happy?"

            "Obviously not as much as you must be," Sirius murmured behind his raised cup.

            James glared so malevolently at him that Sirius was suddenly glad that looks couldn't kill. He grinned weakly at his best friend and cleared his throat, attempting to change the subject and lighten the tense atmosphere. "So … how's your study going?"

            James just raised an eyebrow. "Study? That's the best you could come up with?" he snorted but reached over ad filled his plate with food. He took a swig of juice then started to dig in.

            "Hey Wormtail," Remus greeted, seeing the final member of the Marauders approach them.

            Peter didn't even seemed to see them. He just plonked down beside James and started shoveling food into his mouth. The other three shared at grin at his behaviour. Typical Peter in the mornings. At least he wasn't comatose any more.

            As soon as both James and Peter had eaten a d bit more and woken up slightly (well, Peter still looked half asleep, but it was usual for him), James decided to speak up about what was on his mind just before.

            "Hey, I'm really sorry about not being around as much lately," he told them sincerely. "I really don't have an excuse, I should always make time for my friends. Ditching you guys for any reason is just not right."

            "True," Sirius started to admonish him, but a swift kick from Remus under the table silenced him, though he glared at Remus for a moment, the werewolf looking entirely _too_ innocent. "But I guess it's okay. Moony and I have been doing all right on our own. Admittedly, it's not as much fun without the whole gang, but its our seventh year, we all have priorities and responsibilities." He frowned. "Well, _you_ have responsibilities at any rate James."

            "Among other things," Peter murmured glancing down the table at a certain redheaded girl. James glared then blushed as he saw Lily looking back up towards them.

            "Yes, well, then you have Lily too," Remus said. "Really James, we don't hold it against you at all, lily's a fine girl and we know how much you like her … if 'like' accurately describes the situation …" he trailed off as he noticed James didn't appear to be taking in a word he was saying.

            "Jamie?" Sirius waved a hand in front of his face, but the raven-haired boy didn't blink, still staring at his girlfriend with a silly smile. Looking over, Sirius and Remus noticed Lilly staring avidly back at James with the same expression.

            "Oh boy, I wonder what's up?" Sirius mused quietly with a grin. He glanced over at Peter to see him caught up in admiring someone on another table, though he couldn't quite discern who it was just yet.

            "I give him about three seconds," Remus whispered, his voice barely a breath of wind to Sirius' ear. 

The two of them counted down and sure enough, James suddenly leapt up and rushed over to Lily, grabbed her by the arms and leaned down to kiss her passionately in front of the whole school in the Great Hall. As Lily reached up to twine her arms around her beloved's neck there were catcalls and whistles as the students egged on the couple who seemed totally oblivious to everything.

            A few teachers stood up and yelled out in outrage, some were close to an apoplexy seeing their Head Boy and Girl making out on the Gryffindor table, some were laughing and cheering with the students while one pair of twinkling blue eyes caught Sirius and Remus' grins.

            "Oh no," Remus muttered. "I think Dumbledore knows."

            Sirius paled slightly. "Think he'll say anything?"

            Remus shrugged. "Don't know. But I do think he may know something we don't."

            Peter started the two of them by jumping up as well. Some of the other students were following James and Lily's example and there were shouts and cheers sounding everywhere. It was total chaos.

            "Where'd Peter go I wonder," Sirius stood up to look for him, but upon hearing Remus' strangle gasp, he turned and followed his gaze to see …

            "AHH!!!"

            "What have we done?" Remus asked him, pale and shaking. "It's just so horrible and … oh no!" Sirius was almost afraid to look. The last sight made him want to vomit. This one was so much worse.

            "I think now I know why Dumbledore wouldn't have said anything," Sirius muttered, holding his head low and closing his eyes. "Seeing teachers making out would have been punishment enough, but having the sight of Peter and Snivellus on top of the Slytherin table etched forever in my memory … it's more than punishment enough." He caught  Remus' gaze and the other boy was not quite so surprised after all of this to see those blue eyes wide and haunted. "If I ever want to pull a prank like this on anyone ever again, bludgeon me to death if you have to, I don't think I'd be able to take the scars from the encounter."

            Remus nodded. "Same." He risked a look around and found there was no way out of the Hall and things were getting even worse. "How are we going to get out of this one? There aren't any tunnels leading from the Hall. And it's rather hard to ignore everything going on around us."

            Sirius bit his lip then that deliciously evil smile crossed his face. "If you can't beat them, join them," he quoted an old Muggle cliché. Grabbing Remus by the waist, he pulled him down so the other boy was straddling him.

            Remus grinned and leaned down. "I suppose I could replace those evil memories with more pleasant ones," he murmured silkily, the noise and sights around them no longer bothering them. Their entire universe at the moment was just each other.

            "I was hoping you'd say that," Sirius replied before his mouth was suddenly captured in Remus' deep kiss.

            So their plan backfired a bit. What did one expect with only two Marauders planning things out? Though, admittedly, there was a rather enjoyable ending for many. They just hoped that James and the rest of the school gave them a slight head-start when they realized the culprits behind the bungled prank. They were sure that the whole 'New Moon Fever' idea would only give them enough time to get as far as Hogsmede. After that … well there was a slight chance if they managed it that far.

            Though this was James they were thinking about … and Peter … and _Snape_ …

            Well, they were doomed anyway, might as well make the most of it while they could. Which they did.

_AN: There you have it, my first HP fan fiction … and obviously my first Siri-Rem. Tell me what you thought, what you liked, what you didn't. I hope everyone who did read this enjoyed at any rate._

_Until my next fore,_

_Laters._


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